Please don't cuddle the koalas

WHY DO Japanese holidaymakers go to Australia? One of the top three attractions is the chance to cuddle a koala - a practice that is about to be outlawed in New South Wales. From January 1997, visitors to animal parks will no longer be able to handle a koala or pass it to their fellow tourists. Instead, the animals must stay on a perch, where they can be stroked or patted but not held.

The tourist industry in New South Wales is outraged by the ban. The state stands to lose $60 million a year as its 540 000 Japanese tourists go to Queensland where koala cuddling is allowed.

John Ryan, a local politician who backs the tourist industry, says there is no scientific evidence that the koala is put under stress by handling. "If the parks were stressing koalas out by exhibiting them, they would be killing off their ...

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